So I have this kiln-dried 8/4 black walnut board that’s been sitting in my garage for about 6 months now. It was one of those purchases where I saw the board, loved the figure, and the price was dirt cheap. This board is approximately 5 feet long and 7” wide. I would love to resaw it and make a nice bookmatched top for a sofa table, or two end tables. I am a bit weary, however, as it appears to be one of the outermost cuts of flat/plain sawn lumber. Here is a highly detailed image, courtesy of MS Paint :

I’m pretty sure if I resaw this piece, it’s going to be pretty unstable, as far as cupping is concerned. Thoughts?

-- - The mightiest oak in the forest is just a little nut that held its ground.

I had an 8/4 piece of White Ash just like that. What I ended up doing was two fold:

I resawed several 1/4in panels for inserts, and

I cut vertically with or parallel to the 8/4. This basically gave me 2in wide boards that were quarter-sawn. I then glued up two wide to have my stiles, and single for my rails. It sure gave me great straight grain!

That’s a really nice chest, Mike. I was hoping to resaw to end up with around 3/4” boards least. I want to leave on board intact for the center of the top, and rip the other one down the middle, to create a bookmatch on either side of the center piece. Really wanted to show the figure off.

-- - The mightiest oak in the forest is just a little nut that held its ground.

I would say go for it. You’ll really never know until you’ve tried it. I did a similar thing with a very large chunk of cherry and ended up with 5 5” pieces that I glued up alternating the cup and have had 0 issues. You could cut that piece and end up swith something that looks like waves on the ocean, and in that case, I think you could still salvage the wood and Mike suggested and use for something else.

Cut it in half, let it sit for a while, see what it looks like. Plane it to thickness, wait and see. If you’re good at that point, you’re probably in the clear.